http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/27/381636056/child-abuse-and-neglect-laws-arent-being-enforced-report-finds Laws that are intended to protect children from abuse and neglect are not being properly enforced, and the federal government is to blame. According to a study conducted by the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law, states that children are suffering as a result. Almost 680,000 children in the United States were the victims of abuse and neglect in 2013 and more than 1,500 of them died. Federal officials say that the numbers are lower than they were in 2012, but children's advocates say abuse is so often not reported that it's impossible to know if there's really been a decline. Why is child abuse and neglect not being reported? I would like to think that people are just unaware of the signs of abuse and neglect or what they should report. Therefore, I don't want to say a simple fix to this problem will be educating child care givers on signs of abuse and what they should look for and report will fix this problem, but I do think it will help. Having intense trainings on child abuse and neglect for teachers, school social workers, and any other professional that provides care to children under 18 will be beneficial to decreasing the number of unreported incidents.
I've always wondered how orphanages were and if some of them were still around. To my surprise and through a few clicks on google I found that a lot are still around today. This article discusses a study that was done across the world. They talked to people that were raised in orphanages, foster homes, in kinship care, and group homes. I have always heard negatives things about orphanages and I didn't know why. Reading this article helped me realize that some people actually had better experiences with orphanages than foster care because they had a since of security. In a lot of foster homes youth get pushed around and that effects how they connect with other people. Kinship care is still seen as the best way but a lot of youth don't know there families. It would be nice to talk to someone in person to get there view on all three, excluding kinship.
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. It's important to have "positive, personal interactions" and to know that the bond and relationship is going to continue over time and that the feeling of friendship/care/concern is mutual. For most of us, forming a last connection with someone isn't difficult-maybe a little awkward at first, but we've had lots of practice throughout our life; however, for others making that connection and feeling a sense of belonging are more difficult, specifically those in foster care. Whatever the reason a child is in foster care, there is some sort of trauma...just the removal from the home is trauma. With that, it's ruining that sense of belongingness-even if that is to an abusive family. And within the foster care system, kids experience multiple placements, so it's essential that for kids when they first enter foster care system to get the treatment and services they need up front and the families they are placed with need to be given the appropriate and quality training on working with these children.
I wonder what it would take to change this system...
My focus throughout my internship this year has been within the topic of Multi-system youth. Multi system youth refer to those youth who are in the need of services from two or more of the following systems: child protective services, mental health and addictive services, developmental disabilities, and juvenile court. In early fall of 2015, we created a survey to send to the counties to gather data on youth in our system that are also involved in other systems (JJ, MH/BH, DD). We also gathered data from the metro counties on placement costs. We used this information to create a policy brief that I co-wrote. The brief was created to mostly inform the New Joint Legislator Committee on Multi-System Youth from a child welfare perspective.
We found 4 areas in which there is an impact on child protective services.
1. Many multi-system youth enter child protective services custody for other reasons than child abuse or neglect.
2. Some parents relinquish custody (give custody voluntarily) of their child for the sole purpose of securing treatment services.
3. High costs are associated with high intensity multi-system needs.
4. Multi-system youth in child protection custody are at greater risk of poor outcomes.
If interested, the brief can be found at http://www.pcsao.org/pdf/advocacy/MultiSystemYouthBriefPCSAO.pdf
CSH's (Cooperation for Supportive Housing) Keeping Families Together initiative provides supportive housing to vulnerable families and children in an attempt to keep children from being removed from their families and put in the foster care system. Child welfare systems often feel there is no other choice but remove the children when the family struggles with issues such as mental illness, substance abuse or severe medical issues, but foster care can bring more traumatic stress to the children the system is trying to help. CSH paired with "housing providers, those involved in homeless services and child welfare agencies to create supportive housing models that keep families together". Supportive housing models offer housing as well as other supportive services such as mental health, substance abuse and medical care to vulnerable families. The Keeping Families Together pilot program was implemented in 2010 in New York, and CSH is trying to bring it to more communities.
Here is the link to the video to get a better idea of what Keeping Families Together is all about:
This article lays out real life experiences of a young Columbus, OH suburb student and the impact of suicide on her life. And with this impact and the knowledge of suicide education, there is a push in Ohio to have suicide prevention and mental health support in the school systems. It is the hope of state and local leaders that education and prevention programs will allow for suicide and mental health programs to lessen the stigma of these issues and help people speak about their concerns. This is the push in the primary, middle, and high schools, but recently the governor has required public colleges and universities to provide suicide prevention education, which I believe is a step in the right direction.
I have found the statistics in this article to be astounding. Having 8 percent of high school students having attempted suicide in the past year is very concerning. That level is awful to me. The fact that there are 8 in 100 kids who have attempted means that in an average high school there could be upwards of 60-80 kids who have attempted suicide in just one year. And this is those who have attempted, but survived. This not only concerns me on a professional level, but a personal level as well.
Having had a friend in high school that committed suicide, this truly hits close to home. I know that schools need to work on mental health and suicide prevention, but this also goes into the community, churches, homes, and other organizations that they take mental health seriously and know the warning signs of self-harm and suicidal ideation that children are having.
Is this something we can fix over night? Of course not. But I do truly believe that if we as a society can prevent even one student from committing suicide and get the mental health help that they need, that we have been successful.
This article explains the pressing concerns that Mississippi is facing. And while this articles primarily focuses on Mississippi, it briefly identifies other states who's Child Welfare systems are being evaluated, this is a "wake-up call" to all states and their child welfare. I think sometimes people can be too intimidated by change to even begin this process. But what we are continuing to see is that these vulnerable children need advocates and improvements to the system. I appreciated what David Chandler had to say in the article. David Chandler, a former State Supreme Court justice who was brought in last month to head the child welfare system. “We have to start one bite at a time. I think the first step is putting together a plan to attract more certified, educated, credentialed social workers.” As continue to learn in our classes, best practices and quality research are so important not just for abstract reasoning but to improve systems and policies. These stories are devastating. But what I appreciate that this article addresses is the low salaries of those who work in this field. "Salaries are so low — some family workers can earn as little as $23,643 a year — that they qualify for public assistance." If we want quality individuals, we have to take a serious look at salaries and their ability to provide for their families. We should not be surprised that over worked and underpaid child welfare workers are struggling to keep up with the demands of the system. But we can not afford to not address this issues and take a long, hard look at how to improve. While this article was mentioned before, it has really resonated with my in this season. What are your thoughts on next steps or ways to improve our child welfare systems?
This article talks about how Ohio Child Welfare agencies were fined $3.8 million. This was not a shock to the state, as Ohio only met four of fourteen criteria on the federal Child and Family Services Review standards in 2008. However, they created an improvement plan and met many of the goals by 2012. The only standards the state did not meet were on recurrence of maltreatment and on child and parent visitation. Due to the fact the state was working improvements, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suspended the fine in 2008 was suspended. However, the recently lifted the suspension. “I don’t want to downplay the importance of the federal measures, because we should be held to standards, but some of these make it really hard,” said Scott Britton of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. Even though the child welfare system is implemented by individual counties, the state paid the fine for the counties. I find it very interesting that the data in 2008 was taken from only 3 counties in Ohio. But the data after the improvement plan was made, data was collected from all 88 counties in Ohio.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has found evidence that the federal government discriminates against First Nation children living on reserves. They filed a complaint against Ottawa, arguing that although child welfare needs are greater on the reserves, they receive much less support than other populations. This has led to higher rates of First Nation children in the child welfare system.
On January 26th, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the federal government's funding and management of First Nation family services "resulted in denials of services and created various adverse impacts for many First Nations children and families living on reserves".
Due to this decision, the government must take steps to fix the system and ensure that discrimination does not occur in the future. It also requires services that are culturally appropriate. This could result in increased support that would allow the First Nation people living on a reserve to deliver child welfare for themselves.
How is it possible that such blatant discrimination could continue for so long? Even though this is a historic decision and a victory for child welfare everywhere, does government really put the needs of children first? Or are their actions solely an attempt to protect themselves?
The challenges of aging out of the foster care system are often well-known. Youth who age out at the age of 18 often receive little support and are more at-risk to face challenges such as substance abuse, prison, trafficking, and homelessness. They are more likely to live in poverty and need public assistance and are less likely to continue their education. However, support for them is often limited.
This article discusses proposed legislation in the state of Ohio that will hopefully be a step toward creating better support for youth aging out of foster care and the following quote stuck out to me:
"National statistics show that for every young person who ages out of
foster care without support, we pay $300,000 in social costs over that
person's lifetime. It won't take long for this new program to pay for itself, and eventually deliver fiscal benefits to Ohio." (Mecum, 2015).
Knowing the risk-factors that come with aging out of the foster care system with little to no support as well as the amount of money it costs in the future, do you believe legislation will be easily passed and implemented? Will providing support to youth aging out of the system really reduce these risk factors?
As a whole, individuals generally understand and know that welfare programs are based on state and governmental funds. This graph and subsequent article (make sure to change the state to Ohio once on the webpage) explain how the funding is broken down for child welfare programs specific to Ohio based on the "Federal, State and Local Spending to Address Child Abuse and Neglect in SFY 2012 report from Child Trends".
When looking at some of the other states' funding (located on ncsl.org), Ohio spends a decent amount more on child welfare programs than several other states. Yet, an article from the Columbus Dispatch states that there are 53,000 more children living in poverty and that Ohio's rate has increase to 23% from 18% in 2008 as reported by the Kids Count data released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Did you realize that this much money is spent in child welfare programs in Ohio or that they are broken down in this way? How do you think that our funding impacts our child poverty rates? Do you think it could it be changed to better meet the needs of Ohio's children?
This article focuses on a national report looking at
the amount of child abuse cases seen in the United States. Like the title of
the article states, child abuse rose three percent from 2013 to 2014. While
three percent doesn’t seem like a large number, it accounts for an additional
20,000 child victims. The increase in abuse and maltreatment is connected to “substance
abuse, mental health issues and domestic violence.” Race and age are explored
in regards to abuse as well. According to the report, white children were most
abused and/or neglected followed by Hispanic children then black children. Over
seventy percent of the deaths / fatalities were of children under the age of
three.
“Georgia, Illinois, West Virginia, Oklahoma
and Michigan had the highest rates of child fatalities.”
Victims most often suffered neglect. Who were the
perpetrators you are probably asking? The report stated that eighty percent of
the time…80%...it was the parents.
“States with more than 30% increases in
maltreatment over the past five years include Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee,
according to the report.”
Upon reading these new statistics, the information
and validity of such might be questioned by some readers.
“The report, formally known as the National
Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, is based on input from child protection
agencies in every state.”
This information is
from all of the CPS agencies of opened cases in every state. That does not account
for any of the screened out cases or the ones that go unreported.
Working in a hospital setting with children after
they have been in the NICU, this article was horrible to think about but a true
reality check for me. I work with kids up to age three, the same time span that
includes 70% of child deaths from abuse or neglect. Babies literally rely on
parents and caretakers to give them care and support and keep them alive. Now imagine
a baby with medical needs or developmental delays from premature birth and the
extra attention he or she would need. Parents being 80% of the perpetrators of
abuse definitely correlates with these early deaths. I also noticed that the
article discusses sexual abuse and notes that “The report tallied 58,105
children who were sexually abused in 2014 — down considerably from the peak of
about 150,000 in 1992.” As we have discussed in class, the 90’s were a peak
time for juvenile offenses and crime in the media – just something interesting
I noted in my head. Finally, Rafael Lopez, the commissioner of the
Administration on Children, Youth and Families is noted to mention prevention
as a strategy to counter these increases. He does not, however, mention any
planned strategies to do so. Prevention and getting help early is vital to
decreasing child abuse and increasing child welfare efforts. There needs to be
some action taken to make more steps in implementing this prevention.
I found this article interesting because I did not know that there were reviews on the child protective system. It made me very pleased to know that there are reviews done and that the system is checked, however, the news that this article presents about failing to meet all the criteria that is expected of the system is disappointing. On the other hand, it was also interesting to see that across the counties most of the systems were failing to meet certain criteria; this made me feel as though something should be adjusted to better be able to meet the expected criteria. I liked the fact that the state paid the $3.8 million off and gives the counties a chance to earn $3 million back. However, I feel that there should be a plan put in place to improve in the areas they did not meet of the criteria and do better on the next review.
The child welfare system is ever changing as it tries to improve the lives of families and children. The child welfare system removes children from homes in severe circumstances when their safety is at imminent risk. Most of these children have experienced abuse and/or neglect that has caused significant trauma in their lives, impacting them emotionally, psychologically, physiologically, developmentally, etc. What is sometimes forgotten is that removing these children from their homes and environment they have always known and placing them in foster care, is another loss and traumatic event. While children services has made that decision upon the idea that the trauma of leaving them in the home is greater than the trauma of having them removed, there is still a significant amount of adjustment that these youth are asked to make. Not only are they going into a new environment with people they don't know, they may also be switching schools, given new expectations, and they are now dictated by the rules and laws they come along with being in the custody of the state. Unintentionally, foster care placement often deprives children of having some normal childhood experiences. The child welfare system is continuously looking for ways to improve the lives of children in foster care to allow them to grow, learn, and have as "normal" a life as possible. Unfortunately, sometimes the system puts up barriers to achieving that.
When youth are not able to participate in activities that are needed for development, they are unprepared for life as an adult. Many youth who age out of foster care experience unemployment or inadequate income, homelessness, and incarceration. It is essential for the development of the adolescent brain that youth have the ability and opportunity to practice decision making skills and to sometimes make their own mistakes to be learned from.
Allowing youth to test boundaries while in care can help them learn about natural consequences and the importance of making positive choices (Texas Department of Family And Protective Services, 2013).
The most recent legislation passed is an extremely significant one that has major potential to improve the lives of foster children through helping them achieve a higher level of normalcy.
Public Law 113-183, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, was passed in 2014. This law requires states to implement a Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard to support normalcy for children in care. This federal law does not require state legislation; however, recognizing the importance of normalcy, Ohio has taken a lead in implementing normalcy policies. State legislation in Ohio was passed in September of 2014 as reflected in:
"ORC 2151.315 Participation in extracurricular enrichment, and social activities"
This section defines age-appropriate activities for youth and outlines what needs to be considered by foster parents when making a reasonable and prudent parent decision such as age, developmental level, maturity level, potential risk factors, best interest of the child, emotional and developmental growth, family-like living experience, and child's behavioral history.
"ORC 5103.162 Qualified immunity of foster caregivers"
This section grants foster parents immunity from liability given that they have taken training regarding prudent parenting decisions and that they can demonstrate that the decision they made for the foster youth was a reasonable decision.
The Juvenile Law Center (2015) writes that normalcy is "ensuring a child’s range of experiences while in foster care is typical of the range of experiences of any child of the same age." They feel it is important for children to "practice the skills they will need as an adult while they are still in a protected environment. These experiences help them build relationships, develop skills, and prepare for adulthood."
The idea of normalcy for young people in foster care has to do with the idea that you should
be able to take part in regular childhood activities despite being in foster care. In other words,
the foster care system shouldn't prevent you from experiencing normal developmental
activities, such as staying overnight with friends or participating in after-school activities.The following are various links you can access to learn more about the Normalcy and the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard:
Opposition to using data to assist with child welfare investigations may be jeopardizing the well-being of children? Some advocates worry that using data would perpetuate racial discrimination, violate human rights,and ultimately cause more harm than good. Criticism of this approach is that automating risk analysis could promote racial discrimination. Some critics complain that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the technology actually works which leads to user error. The author of this blog, Joshua New, states that given the scale of the need and opportunity to improve children’s welfare,slowing experimentation with predictive analytics would be incredibly detrimental. As an increasing number of government officials recognize the potential of this approach, they should be careful not to give credence to advocates more fearful of data than they are concerned about the welfare of children. What do you think? Would data collection cause more harm than good for identifying the most at-risk children?
"In the mid-'90s, the CDC and Kaiser Permanente discovered an exposure that dramatically increased the risk for seven out of 10 of the leading causes of death in the United States. In high doses, it affects brain development, the immune system, hormonal systems, and even the way our DNA is read and transcribed. Folks who are exposed in very high doses have triple the lifetime risk of heart disease and lung cancer and a 20-year difference in life expectancy"
In this TED talk, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke Harris explains how childhood trauma affects not only the mental well being of a person but their physical health as well. She discusses a fascinating study called "Adverse Childhood Experiences Study", or ACES, that tied high incidences of childhood trauma events to negative health outcomes. I really thought this was an interesting talk because she describes how trauma can literally change a child's developing brain. Dr. Burke Harris brings to light the negative effects of repeated stress activation on children due to excessive stress hormones. At her clinic she screens kids for ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and then "we have a multidisciplinary treatment team that works to reduce the dose of adversity and treat symptoms using best practices, including home visits, care coordination, mental health care, nutrition, holistic interventions, and yes, medication when necessary. But we also educate parents about the impacts of ACEs and toxic stress the same way you would for covering electrical outlets, or lead poisoning". I think this is a really great way to look at childhood trauma; that it is a disease with hope for treatment.
This article discusses the issue of not having preventative services for families in crisis, but instead providing services for children only after they have been placed in foster care. It is pointed out that there has not been funding for preventative care, even though policy and practice have been shifting to investment in family support and preventive services for more than 20 years. Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides states with funding for children after being placed in the foster care system.
A new piece of legislation has been developed to address the issue of not having funding for preventative care, with the goal of focusing on the family and not solely on the child when possible. New York is one of the few states who have been given Federal waivers to Title IV-E. The waivers are temporary, but have helped New York City decrease the number of youth in foster care and keep children safe at home with their families. Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Ron Wyden are proposing that Title IV-E be changed to include funding for early intervention and services. If the proposal is established, Title IV-E will provide children and families who are struggling with funding for preventative services in the home. The goals mentioned in the article are to reduce the amount of youth removed from their homes and placed in foster care, keep children safe, strengthen families, reduce taxpayer costs, and provide youth with services early on that include family members to help them succeed.
Do you have any thoughts about the issues this article presents?
This NPR article discusses a study conducted by the Child Advocacy Institute, which "conducted a three-year study and found that not one state has met all of the minimum child welfare standards set by the federal government. Those standards include such things as timely investigation of reports of child abuse. The institute blames Congress and the courts for failing to get involved." Two reasons for this is also stated in the article: agencies are underfunded and case workers are over-whelmed.
Something needs to change. Children, even though they do not vote, need to have a voice. Who is going to protect them? I have heard from mandatory reporters that they second-guess reporting concerns because of the lack of timely investigations. Although I do not agree with this stance, I understand the frustration that they express. More funding and support for case workers is needed. The lives of innocent and vulnerable children are at stake.
This article highlights Angela who is a teenager in foster care. Often times we always hear about the bad stuff that happens in foster care and not the good stuff. Angela is a teenager in foster care which is difficult at times. Teenage years are some of the most difficult years but imagine those years in foster care. A teenager in foster care does not get the same luxuries as "regular teenagers". You have to ask permission from your case worker to have a friend over or even go to friends house. Also you do not get to have your drivers license. But what I think as professionals we need to remind ourselves is that even though children are in foster care they are still children and do not look at them different or treat them different.
Mississippi is trying to avoid becoming the first state to have its child welfare system ran by an outside group. In July, Mississippi publicly admitted to failing to project their own children.Officials also reported that in 2011, overwhelmed Social Workers destroyed evidence of abuse by shredding photographed documentation so they wouldn't have to deal a heavier caseload. Several experts said the dysfunction reflected not just problems with foster care, but broader problems within the state. Mississippi has among the highest rates of poverty, teenage pregnancy, and incarceration in the country.
Children are in danger because the system is not working. A youth judge stepped down from his position because he was afraid a child would die on his watch! Human Rights are being ignored for children in Mississippi. They are being subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment by foster parents-- a foster mother threw a toddler to a pair of snarling dogs! The system has been failing for years, this is a social injustice happening right under our noses.
This story is about a well-known Pakistani TV host giving away babies as prizes. Their show is equivalent to our Price is Right, they answer questions about the Quran and they receive prizes. An organization called Chhipa Welfare Association looks for abandoned babies in the streets and helps them live. The host of this TV show, through this organization, decided he would give away a baby girl to a childless couple during their Ramadan month, unbeknownst to them. They were overjoyed. The host plans to give more babies away. It's important to state that adoption is not recognized in Pakistan, no adoption laws whatsoever, so anyone receiving a baby as a prize will have to go to court to sign for guardianship. Some say it is a publicity stunt all for TV ratings, but what are your thoughts?
This article highlights the often overlooked issue of sex trafficking of minors across the world. Since the Super Bowl many media outlets have done stories to also address the issue and unfortunately it's being spoken to as if this a new phenomenon. However, it is not and this post urges readers to understand that this a worldwide issue, a gruesome act of child abuse and transcends all societal barriers (race, ethnicity, location, economic status, etc.). An alarming statistic that the post presents is that nationally 60-88% of children that are trafficked are in the child welfare system. This post also urges everyone to advocate for change in juvenile justice policy so that victims of trafficking can be proved with supportive treatment and not persecution. Great great with link to similar post. Enjoy✊🏿
At this point, most Americans are aware of the incredibly high number of heroin users currently in the United States. Heroin and other opiates have permeated all different types of communities resulting in a spike in need for services. This article talks specifically about how heroin use and addiction has coincided with increased need for foster care services. While there don't seem to be specific numbers to back it up, caseworkers and judges involved in these cases agree that heroin is behind many of the problems occurring within families today. Some child welfare agencies have even begun screening a family for opiate use at the very start of their service provision with the family.
The question that remains for social workers and other helping professionals is where and how to intervene in order to achieve the best results for our families. Addiction and child abuse/neglect are two very complex issues and it can be very difficult to parse out what the true catalyst of the problem was. The article does mention Ohio's progressive family drug court program as well as interventions being used in other states.
Last year, the state of Indiana hired an additional 113 child welfare caseworkers in order to keep up with the high caseloads. Many counties and states are reporting unprecedented numbers of children (especially very young children) in the foster care system which could be partially due to the rise in opiate use. How much more can our child welfare system sustain? How can social workers intervene in this issue?
A Kansas Senate committee is looking at a way to bring changes to the juvenile justice system there ultimately reducing the amount of juveniles who commit minor offenses from being locked up as well as reducing the amount of time juveniles spend locked up. However, the District Attorney argues against this saying the number of juveniles who are locked up is already reduced from previous years from legislative changes. He continues to argue that this means the system is already working and they don't understand the need for drastic change when they numbers are already decreasing. What are your thoughts on this topic? Does the juvenile justice system need reform, not only in Kansas but everywhere?
Justice Department study released the rate of formal sex abuse allegations against guards and other staff in state juvenile justice facilities has doubled, even as the number of children entering those systems has dropped.The report examined the paperwork involving 9,494 allegations of sexual abuse.10 percent of children in detention have reported sexual abuse by either staff or peers, often repeatedly. Executive director of Just Detention International stated that this is, "deeply troubling" I hope there is growing awareness of sexual abuse in detention centers. It makes you wonder what else may be written off and is lacking attention because this issue could be causing more severe behaviors due to trauma.
Personally, I was very ignorant to the juvenile justice system and how it operates. I was also very ignorant to how things worked and the fact that young people were being put in solitary confinement. This article speaks on the recent ban on solitary confinement and the fact that youth used to be sentenced to life without parole. I was unaware that the juvenile system did that type of sentencing. It was recently ruled that those who were given that type of sentence must have a chance at "life outside of prison walls".
I agree with this 100 percent because if a youth is never given the chance to be reintroduced to the community that individual is missing out on a lot of important skills and lessons that can be gained from the community. They are also missing out on being in school which delays the individual and makes them unmarketable to the community and society. The article takes a more scientific route when explaining why youth should not be sentenced to life without parole. It looks at how people mature and the development of the brain and takes note of the fact that the brain is not fully developed until 25.
On a recent Friday afternoon in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx, one of the poorest Congressional districts in the U.S., 25-year-old Tyree Hicks was catching up with friends from a local youth mentoring program. They traded jokes and listened to a new song that 21-year-old Lamell Carrington had composed and played for them on his phone.
"It's called 'Motivation,' and it's pretty much a rap ... of how I got here today," said Carrington. The lyrics are about a young man from "the hood" who wants to provide for his family, as he internalizes their daily struggles, financial and otherwise. Carrington was born and raised in East Harlem's Wagner House projects before moving to Queens as an adolescent. He joined a gang when he was 10 years old.
Tyree Hicks spent eight months on Rikers Island and now works for CCFY
INES NOVACIC / CBS NEWS
Hicks' story is similar: at age 13, he got involved with the Crips gang until his late teens, when he was sent to New York City's Rikers Island correctional facility.
"I came from Jersey to New York in '09, around the time I had my son," said Hicks. "Pampers and stuff was coming up, I felt like my back was against the wall, so I went back into the street, selling drugs ... playing with guns, selling them. ... I got into a situation, where I had to do what I had to do, and one day I got stopped by the cops. They caught me and gave me eight months in Rikers Island."
Both Hicks and Carrington were in and out of the system until probation officers referred them to a mentoring program that was part of the city's Young Men's Initiative. They were subsequently hired as peer mentors at Community Connections for Youth, a grassroots nonprofit organization based in Mott Haven that champions diversion programs, engaging youth involved in the criminal justice system in productive neighborhood activities.
"Here today I work for CCFY [Community Connections for Youth] as a mentor to be able to give back to the youth," said Carrington.
There are around 500,000 youths in the U.S. criminal justice system - adult prisons and jails, juvenile facilities and probation - according to latest data compiled from several Department of Justice reports. A tenth of those are in New York, one of only two states - the second is North Carolina - that treats 16- and 17-year-olds, who comprise the bulk of all juvenile cases, as adults and not juveniles, regardless of the crime.
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman says 16- and 17-year-olds should be treated as juveniles
INES NOVACIC / CBS NEWS
"Here is the problem: In New York you're criminally responsible at age 16. ... They're not adults!" Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, told CBS News.
Lippman has been advocating for juvenile justice reform in the state, namely raising the age of criminal responsibility, for the past five years. The "Raise the Age" movement has recently gained momentum in Albany, after New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo launched a campaign in early March to rally support for his bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility in the state.
"Any expectation that you're going to put a 16- or 17-year-old in a state prison and you're going to rehabilitate them or you're going to teach them or they're going to come out better than they went in is totally unrealistic," Cuomo said in his 2015 State of the State address.
In a 164-page report, the Governor's Commission on Youth, Public Safety & Justice said its recommendations, including raise the age of criminal responsibility, would reduce crime statewide and actually save taxpayer dollars.
"To take a child - and I underline that word child - and treat some mistake in judgment that they make as equally culpable as an adult criminal is counterproductive," said Lippman. "You're ruining these kids' lives before they've had a chance to be part of the American Dream."
"Incarceration [for] children should be the last possible resort."
A key focus of the growing Raise the Age movement is housing youths and adults in separate correctional facilities. Youth in adult facilities are: five times more likely to commit suicide than the general population and eight times more likely than youths in juvenile facilities; 50 percent more likely to face an armed attack than those in juvenile facilities; five times more likely to be sexually assaulted than in youth facilities; and around 25 percent more likely to reoffend than youth in juvenile facilities, according to data cited in the governor's commission. The reports also identifies that, on any given day, there are approximately 700 youths in local jails and 100 in state prison. Sixteen- and 17-year olds who are routinely sent to adult jails and prisons are often housed and contained in separate units.
Corrections officers sit in on a group counseling session at Columbia Girls Secure Facility
INES NOVACIC / CBS NEWS
Yet even separated from adults, violence is common among teen inmates.
A recently retired corrections officer who worked at New York City's Rikers Island facility told CBS News how "constant fights" occur between youths at the jail, because they're contained to certain areas within it.
"The mindframe is that they have to put up this front that 'I'm a big man or big woman about town, and I can handle this,' when, actually, they're still children," said the former guard who asked not to be named.
The CCFY youth mentors in Mott Haven, including Hicks and Carrington, echoed this idea.
"It just felt like it was more vicious than the street," said Hicks. "I had to fight with COs [correctional officers], I had to fight with other gangs, with older people, just for dumb things, like my bed or my tray - or [you're a] Blood, I'm [a] Crip."
Raise the Age reform would strictly limit 16- and 17-year-olds to incarceration in juvenile facilities. Columbia Girls Secure Facility in Columbia County, about two hours north of New York City, is considered a model detention center by Raise the Age advocates. A small, two-building facility enclosed in barbed-wire, Columbia Girls is more boarding school than prison, especially compared to the much larger boy's juvenile facility next door, Brookwood Secure Center.
"We have a capacity for 16 girls and right now our population is 15," said Anita Sapio, former facility director at Columbia who now oversees all girls' facilities in New York State.
At lunchtime on St. Patrick's Day, the girls at Columbia were baking cookies topped with green icing. Earlier that morning, they had cooked corned beef and cabbage for lunch, before attending a group therapy session, where the main topic of discussion was self-validation.
Barbed wire surrounds the ground of Columbia Girls Secure Facility in New York
INES NOVACIC / CBS NEWS
"We currently service the 16- and 17-year-olds," Sapio said as she walked to the girl's afternoon volleyball session with two personal trainers hired to come into the facility at least once a week.
"The Raise the Age model will work best with a smaller facility where there is a larger resident-to-staff ratio," said Sapio. "Most of them [the girls] end up transitioning back to the community and back to their families."
If approved, Cuomo's bill would shift jurisdiction for about 86 percent of offenses committed by 16- and 17-year olds to Family Court, which is a problem-solving court aimed at rehabilitative sentencing. Family courts were set up 50 years ago, pioneered by New York's legislature, and they provide services that currently are not available to youth in the adult criminal justice system.
For more serious, cases, including violent crimes, the proposal would provide for specific sections in adult court with judges trained in adolescent development and crime prevention techniques.
"One of the things to remember is these kids, they're adolescents, they're growing, they're learning, and this is our chance to have a positive impact on them for the time that we have them," said Sapio. "And I think we do a successful job at that."
"Statistics show us that children who are treated with the family court model are much less likely to again commit crimes than if we treat them like adults," said Lippman. "The goal is not to punish, the goal is to get these kids to live a useful and meaningful life."
"Fifty years after the Family Court Act, the bottom line is - raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York. Period."
Lessons From Death Row Ted Talk -
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_r_dow_lessons_from_death_row_inmates?language=en
" if you tell me the name of a death row inmate -- doesn't matter what state he's in,doesn't matter if I've ever met him before -- I'll write his biography for you. And eight out of 10 times, the details of that biography will be more or less accurate." -David R Dow
Okay, so this isn't really an all encompassing fail prove plan to prevent murders. However, I do believe that David Dow makes a compelling argument on how we can "nip it in the bud" with a lot of the crime we see in today's society. This talk is about a death row inmate named Will who came from an extremely traumatic and dysfunctional background. When he was 5 his mom, who was schizophrenic, tried to kill him with a butcher knife. This resulted in Will being placed into the custody of his older brother until he committed suicide by shooting himself. After that he was passed from family home to foster home until he was mostly taking care of himself by age 9. In the above quote he says that there is a common thread to around 80% of the inmates on death row, they came from a dysfunctional family setting and had exposure to the juvenile justice system. David argues that before the four chapters of their "death row" story, these people had five chapters that intervention could have taken place to steer them off this path. He suggests that there are thousands of strategies that we could use to nudge these troubled youths off the path to a criminal career and I have to agree. This is part of the reason I am so passionate about children and youth; I believe intervening in a critical time in their lives can be a major diversion from a life of crime. In the Ted Talk, David gives just a couple examples of interventions :
Free early childhood care for economically disadvantaged and otherwise troubled kids.
Special school programs that target kids who have had contact with the juvenile justice system.
I believe more focus on trauma informed care will also be an intervention.
Parents are arrested for leaving son outside for 90 minutes due to delay from traffic and rain. Parents are arrested on third degree charges. Here is the law: "A person who willfully or by culpable negligence neglects a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child commits a felony of the third degree." The children were taken by cps and not returned home for a month. The parents had to plead “not guilty” in criminal court. They are now are mandated to comply with cps dictates such as parenting classes, therapy and day camp. The summer before this happened, they were having a low key summer together hanging out at the house. This past summer, the mother sits at home while the boys go to a day camp that they did not necessarily want to go to. How can the cps and court system catch and follow up on acts that should actually be felonious charges and stay away from traumatizing a family who had no major issues until separated and involved in the cps and court system?
Crossover youth is the unique population of children that are involved in both the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system. It is important that the field has distinguished this population and begun to identify how they are unique from those that are involved in just one system or the other. Having both systems involved creates much more complexity in working with these youth. It is important that practitioners and the general society understand how these systems interrelate and why we see youth that are involved with both systems. It is not because they are bad kids that they have become involved in the juvenile justice system, it is because they have experienced things that the average person cannot imagine. They have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, and through those complex issues, they don't know what "normal" is and how to function appropriately in society. "Abused young people often carry scars of trauma and pain, which can
inform delinquent behavior that leads to subsequent contact with the
juvenile justice system." Children that have experienced trauma and have not healed are often functioning in a mindset of "survival" in a terrifying world, which may contribute to their involvement in delinquent acts.
Crossover youth
suffer higher incidence of drug use and exacerbated mental illness than non-crossover youth.
They also have a higher recidivism rate than
non-crossover youth, and more than 30 percent have new maltreatment
referrals following their arrest. These youth often cycle back through the child welfare system again when they become parents.
The study of crossover youth and practice models is a growing area in the field. These articles call for more and better collaboration among the systems and multi-disciplinary teams to create increased stability and continuity of care for these young people, closing the gap between these systems. Abused and neglected young people come into contact with the justice
system due to any number of contributing factors. For each system to
work best, they must first understand whom crossover youth are and
develop necessary treatment and support models. This requires child
welfare and juvenile justice departments to collaborate on best
practices, streamlined case management and more effective data
collection. "Abused and neglected young people come into contact with the justice
system due to any number of contributing factors. For each system to
work best, they must first understand whom crossover youth are and
develop necessary treatment and support models. This requires child
welfare and juvenile justice departments to collaborate on best
practices, streamlined case management and more effective data
collection."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/theyre-not-adults-ny-seeks-new-approach-to-juvenile-justice/ This article is about two boys who grew up in rough neighborhoods and joined gangs at young ages. They were sent to detention centers over and over until their probation officers realized they were young and needed guidance. They made the boys join a mentoring program that was part of their city's Young Men's Initiative. They were then hired as peer mentors at a nonprofit. I think this is good because they needed someone to lead them into the right direction. Just sending them to jail wouldn't change their behavior if they didn't see what positive outcomes look like. It is good they have the chance to mentor other youth because those youth need guidance too. As a youth you are looking to feel a sense of belonging and get a better understanding of the world. If you are treated like an adult and put into jail without being shown how to be a respectful and responsible adult, you will continue to get into trouble.
Juvenile incarceration is an expensive and highly problematic way of handling our juvenile offenders. According to the article, about 60,000 youth are incarcerated each day. Placing youth in detention facilities rather than community based treatment programs contributes to increased mental health problems, diminished educational outcomes, as well as decreased financial stability. Fortunately, many states are becoming more focused on rehabilitation using community-based alternative interventions. This alternative is designed to help youth get to the root of their issues while learning valuable skills and giving back to the victims and communities affected by their actions.
Juvenile offenders are just that...juveniles. According to various different research studies the brain isn't fully developed until the mid-20s, so how can we expect that a juvenile is going to be able to accurately, calmly, and rationally think through their decisions before committing a crime. It may seem like incarceration is the best option, especially for more violent crimes; however, just like with adults serving time isn't actually a deterrent and youth are more likely to re-offend. So instead of spending almost $250 dollars a day to place offenders in detention centers, why not save some money and turn to community-based alternative interventions, which only cost $75 dollars a day. This way youth offenders are rehabilitated and actually learn from their wrong doings.
PBS Frontline follows the story of four youth: Shawn, Marquese, Jose, and Manny. Two were treated as juveniles and the other two were sent to adult courts.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/four/
From Both Sides of the Bench, judges and lawyers that worked in the cases involving these four youth, discuss some of the major issues within the juvenile justice system. The interactive site allows you to click on the issues that you find interesting or want to read about. They do not necessarily get too deep into the conversation but the judges and lawyers answer questions about the system from their experience and understanding of the system.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-obama-solitary-idUSKCN0V40ZG On January 26th, President Obama announced a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in the federal prison system, saying "the practice is overused and has the potential for devastating psychological consequences." The new rules also dictate that the longest a prisoner can be punished with solitary confinement for a first offense is 60 days, rather than the current maximum of 365 days. Obama cited the story of Kalief Browder, a black 16-year-old who was arrested in 2010 and spent almost two years in solitary confinement in New York City's Rikers Island jail before his release in 2013. Although he received his GED and began school at a community college he committed suicide two years after his release due to the damaging effects that prolonged isolation had on his mental stability. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/nyregion/kalief-browder-held-at-rikers-island-for-3-years-without-trial-commits-suicide.html Even though one of my field placements is at Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center, I was unaware that juveniles can be punished with solitary confinement. Knowing the effects it has on someone especially juveniles, I am surprised this form of punishment has not been banned sooner. The practice has extreme negative psychological consequences yet, we expect individuals to return to their communities and function normally.
"Seventeen is a confounding age--for juveniles, parents and the legal system. For example, in every state, a 17-year-old is legally barred from purchasing liquor, can obtain a learner's permit to drive, and is able to join the military with parental permission."
However, at seventeen a child can be convicted of a crime as an adult depending on the state he/she lives in. Laws have been put into place suggesting that seventeen-year-olds should be tried as adults. Now, states are passing laws that are recognizing seventeen-year-olds as juveniles. What is the difference between juvenile and adult court? The main difference is juvenile court focuses on the juvenile and rehabilitation, and adult court focuses on the crime and the consequence. Also, in the juvenile system all records are confidential, in the adult system all records are public. This would have a large impact on youth when they try to apply for jobs and education.
"We're giving up on kids when we say that punishment is the only option and there is no hope for rehabilitation."
It is also important to note that recidivism is higher once youth have gone through the adult system than they are for youth who have gone through the juvenile justice system. Since the juveniles have spent so much time with older adults who commit crimes they are more likely to be "sexually and physically victimized."
Sometimes hearing a story is the best way to understand an
issue. Ismael Nazario explains his experience in an adult facility as a teenage in his TED talk
"What I learned as a Kid in Jail".
Ismael's story focuses on the importance of rehabilitative
experiences for youth through the juvenile system rather than a placement in
an adult facility that leaves them "becoming more angry, frustrated, and
feel[ing] more hopeless". He talks about people he met who had incredible
talents. He ponders on the difference their stories would have had if those individuals had been able to strengthen those talents through
programming. However, Ismael’s greatest
argument is, perhaps, that sending youth to adult facilities is NOT in their best interest; that youth need more directed care.
How can we continue to grow our youth rehabilitative
programs to reduce the rate of recidivism for youth? In what ways can we pour
into these kids to help them see a brighter future? In what ways can stories
like Ismael's continue to encourage the culture of our systems, encouraging the placement of youth as separate from adults? In what ways can his story impact the
youth of today?
